The commission narrowly voted to deny the application by a vote of 5 to 4, after which the audience burst into prolonged applause.

“I think they listened to all of us who expressed concerns about violating the 25-foot buffer,” said Debbie Smith, referring to the university’s request for a variance regarding how close the fields come to wetlands on the site. The commission last year approved the project with the condition, which university officials said would be impossible to meet.

“They listened to us and did what all of us wanted them to do” in denying the request, Smith said. “They listened to all of us saying, ‘please, say no,’ because there was a line drawn and they wanted to cross it. There would have been no advantage to Hamden (to approve it). This is not about helping Quinnipiac University, this is about what is in the best interest of Hamden.”

The university’s plans include resurfacing the two fields with crumb rubber turf and constructing two stadiums — one seating 500 and the other seating 1,500 — around the fields, including locker rooms and showers. The plans shift the fields too close to wetlands, which is why the university appealed to the commission to grant a variance allowing the plans to go forward despite the encroachment. It wasn’t possible to revise the plans to meet the buffer requirements, university officials told the commission.

“The way that the applicant brought the application before us put us into a procedurally difficult situation,” said Inland Wetlands Commissioner Daniel Liston. “They first came to us with a provisional plan for the fields with the 25-foot buffer and told us there was no feasible alternative and they did the best job they could do. Months later, they revised the application and shifted the fields. I want to support this but it was incumbent on the applicant to do their very, very best. The public was engaged in the process and the commission owes it to the town of Hamden to be diligent in its decision.”

It wasn’t clear Wednesday night what Quinnipiac’s next steps would be and whether Wednesday’s denial will kill the whole project or the university will appeal the decision. Facilities Director Sal Filardi declined to comment after the commission voted.

It also wasn’t clear what the denial means for the Planning and Zoning Commission’s meeting next week, when the application is on its agenda. By law, the zoning commission can’t act on an application until the Inland Wetlands Commission acts, but with the denial it’s not clear whether zoning will go forward with its vote on the application.

There was considerable opposition to the application, especially from the Sleeping Giant Park Association, which urged the commission to “let the giant sleep.” Many who attended Wednesday’s meeting wore bright orange association shirts and had spoken passionately at the public hearing on the application, urging the commission to deny it.

“I’m very happy with the outcome,” he said. “A lot of the habitat has been lost since my wife and I moved in 28 years ago. The parking lot on Hogan Road wasn’t there — it was woodland. I’m pleased the commission voted not to allow the encroachment (into the wetlands).”

“I always thought they were trying to fit a a square peg into a round hole,” said North Haven resident Laurence Gee, who lives near the site over the Hamden line. Though he is a Quinnipiac alumnus, he felt the university’s plans weren’t good for the area, he said.

Another North Haven resident, who didn’t want to give her name, said she, too, was pleasantly surprised by the commission’s decision. “It is amazing to us that they had the courage to stand up to Quinnipiac University,” she said. “Until this point, all of the commissions have been bullied by the university. I’m in shock but I’m not celebrating yet,” she said, opting to wait until it’s known what the university will do next. “It’s likely we will have a conversation with the lawyers, and then we will break out the champagne.”